John 9:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

NIV: That was why his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'

NASB: It was for this reason that his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'

CSB: This is why his parents said, "He's of age; ask him."

NLT: That’s why they said, 'He is old enough. Ask him.'

KJV: Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

NKJV: Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

This verse repeats the statement given in verse 21. The parents of a man Jesus healed of lifelong blindness (John 9:1–7) have testified before the local religious leaders (John 9:18). They clearly want no part of the controversy, which verse 22 helps to explain. These local leaders have promised to excommunicate those who accept Jesus' claim to be the Messiah. The healed man's parents respond with "no comment" as much as possible. Instead of speculating, they point out that their son is old enough to give his own legal testimony.

Of course, the formerly-blind man has already been interrogated. During that first examination (John 9:13–17), the scribes and Pharisees rejected the man's claim that he'd been cured by Jesus. They had already made up their minds not to accept Jesus' message (John 5:39–40; 7:17), so the meaning of the miracle was lost on them. From their perspective, there had to be some other way to explain what had happened.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as the Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus is able to meet with the man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/4/2024 11:09:49 PM